"Help wanted"

Julie Kay details in today's DBR -- U.S. Attorney has sign out: Help Wanted -- that the U.S. Attorney's office is hiring due to the large number of vacanies. Those mentioned in the article as recently leaving: Marvelle McIntyre-Hall (retiring) , Gerald Greenberg (Stearns Weaver) , Aimee Jimenez (USAO in Washington), Lilly Ann Sanchez (Fowler White), Carlos Castillo (Seidman Prewitt), Jonathan Lopez (Justice Dept DC), and Dan Fridman (Justice Dept DC). The article also says that "The Justice Department has always used the Miami office of the U.S. Attorney's office as something of a farm team." Those working in DC with ties to Miami: Barry Sabin, Michael Mulaney, Paul Pelletier, Drew Osterbaan, Mary Butler, Ed Nucci, and now Fridman and Lopez.

More Jack Abramoff

If you haven't had enought Jack Abramoff news, here's a Miami Herald article by Jay Weaver summarizing what has occurred in the case. Weaver explains: "prosecutors Lawrence LaVecchio and Paul Schwartz and Jeff Sloman, chief of the U.S. attorney's criminal division in Miami, flew to Washington to meet with senior Justice Department lawyers. With them was veteran FBI agent Susan Sprengel" to explain how deep the case ran. Everyone is still waiting for all the indictments. Another Miami blogger says don't hold your breath.

FIU prof/wife plead NG and Herald writer pleads guilty

Could the FIU prof and his wife accused of being Cuban spies be headed to trial? Sounds like it might be heading that way. Not because of the not guilty pleas -- that happens in every case -- but because the lawyers' comments seem to suggest a fight is ahead. Read here and here.

In other news, Herald writer Ana Veciana-Suarez pleaded guilty to a contempt of court charge for not disclosing her father's criminal history during jury selection in a 2003 civil trial .

2 votes for dumping peremptory challenges

Yesterday the Supreme Court decided unanimously a habeas case, Rice v. Collins, which in the scheme of High Court rulings didn't shake the legal establishment. What's extremely interesting about this case is the concurrence by Justice Breyer re-affirming his position that we should do away with peremptory challenges altogether. I wrote an op-ed for the Miami Herald over the summer supporting this position. At the time, Breyer was alone on the Court in his belief that the only way to do away with discrimination in jury selection was to eliminate the peremptory challenge. He picked up a vote yesterday with Justice Souter who joined in the opinion. It looks like this idea is starting to pick up some momentum. The last time this topic was brought up on the blog, it brought about a lot of discussion. Any new thoughts?

Blog coverage

Blawg Review #40 picks up our Padilla coverage here.